CROOKED OAK – A 10th-grader at Colbert Heights High School is in critical condition after being shot in the head when a prank among friends went bad early today, authorities said.

Jesse Rainey, 15, was in the critical care intensive care unit at UAB Children’s Hospital this afternoon. He was flown there shortly after being shot about 3:30 a.m. at a house at 5985 Jones Road, which is in the Crooked Oak community south of Tuscumbia.

“We’ve found no indication that this was planned by anyone,” Sheriff Ronnie May said. “We believe this was a prank that went terribly wrong. We continue to pray for Jesse and his family. We hope he is able to return to his family soon.”

No charges have been filed.

May said Rainey, who lives at 1550 Emmitt Holland Road, Tuscumbia, was one of eight boys who planned to spend the weekend at the house in Crooked Oak, which belonged to one of teen’s parents. May said the group of close friends are all either 15 or 16 years old. They often spend time together on camping trips and at other houses.

A few members of the group walked outside at one point and decided to make the others think an intruder had entered the house. During the process, Rainey, who was in on the prank, was shot with a .38-caliber handgun, according to May.

The boys put Rainey in the bed of a pickup and met sheriff’s deputies and medical personnel at Midway Package Store. Rainey was rushed to Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield where he was stabilized and then flown to the Birmingham hospital.